• Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

This was a slight improvement on their Wrestlemania match, but it was once again Jericho doing the bulk of the work. Jericho hits a flying forearm off the top to the floor early on before Fandango takes control. They botched what appeared to be a roll-up spot of sorts, but Fandango recovers with a slingshot leg drop. Jericho made his comeback and they exchanged near falls, with Fandango rolling through a high cross for 2 and Jericho scoring with the Lionsault. Fandango escaped the Walls of Jericho after a counter sequence, and Jericho got the win with a Codebreaker as Fandango came flying off the top rope. The match was solid aside from the miscommunication spot but needed a little more time. The crowd was also very quiet aside from the Lionsault and Codebreaker spots. Match Time: 8:35     Star Rating: **1/2

• United States Championship Match: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Dean Ambrose

These guys got even less time than the opener, so they worked fast all the way through. Kofi teases the Trouble in Paradise early on before Ambrose takes control after a clothesline and neckbreaker. Ambrose puts Kofi in a crossface-chicken wing before Kofi makes a comeback. Kofi hits the SOS for 2 and Ambrose scores a near fall with a double underhook suplex off the second rope. Kofi hits the TIP to Ambrose, but Ambrose was on the apron and fell to the floor. Kofi covers for 2, then misses another TIP attempt and Ambrose gets the win with the headlock driver. Short match, but it was all back and forth and very exciting. With another few minutes this could have been a real show-stealer. Match Time: 6:48     Star Rating: **3/4

• Strap Match: Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

The concept of this match is a little silly, but they did their best. Match mostly consisted of both guys touching 3 corners and getting cut off. They did some creative things with the strap, whipping each other with it, tripping each other, pulling each other into the post, etc. It was very repetitive but it also didn’t go too long and it provided a consistent story. In the end Sheamus touches 3 corners, escapes a World’s Strongest Slam, hits the Brogue Kick, and touches the 4^th corner for the win. Not the most engaging match in the world but it was fine. Match Time: 7:58     Star Rating: **

• #1 Contender’s I Quit Match: Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio

Before the match, Zeb Colter cut his usual promo, except much longer and tailored to the I Quit stipulation. Swagger and Del Rio brawl around ringside at the start, with Swagger hitting a belly-to-belly slam on the floor and exposing part of the barricade. Right from the beginning and all throughout, the referee was CONSTANTLY asking the guys if they wanted to quit, literally sticking the mic in their faces every 10 seconds. It was over-the-top and EXTREMELY (no pun intended) distracting. Swagger takes control for a few minutes and beats on Del Rio with a kendo stick. Del Rio eventually makes a comeback and uses the kendo stick himself. Swagger hits the Swagger bomb and two gutwrench powerbombs but Del Rio won’t quit. Del Rio goes for the cross-armbreaker but Swagger escapes and applies the ankle lock. Ricardo has a white towel but Del Rio tells him not to throw it. So Zeb chases Ricardo away and throws in the towel himself. Ref calls for the bell, but a second ref runs down after and tells him what happened. So the ref goes to instant replay (HUH?) and says that if Del Rio can continue, they’ll restart. The match does restart and Del Rio gets the win when Swagger quits after struggling in the cross-armbreaker. The finish was horribly booked as the instant replay has never been established and neither was the right of a manager to end the match by throwing a towel. The wrestling here actually was pretty good as Swagger showed good aggression and they kept a good pace, but the terrible finish and the obnoxious referee asking every 10 seconds if someone wanted to quit really ruined it. Del Rio and Swagger tried but they were doomed right from the start. Match Time: 11:19     Star Rating: **1/4

• Tornado Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Team Hell No(c) vs. The Shield

The rules here were that everyone could be in the ring at the same time. They worked fast right from the get go with both teams hitting various double team moves. Bryan hits a hurricanrana off the top followed by a suicide dive onto both Rollins and Reigns. Bryan hits a diving head butt and goes for the No Lock, but Rollins breaks it up. Kane chokeslams Rollins and eats a spear from Reigns. Rollins hits a springboard flying knee and Reigns spears Kane again for 2. Bryan and Reigns go back and forth before Reigns catapults him into an enzuigiri from Rollins. Shield wins after a flying knee drop/burning hammer combo on Bryan. Another really short match but the action was red hot while it lasted with all four working extremely hard and showing fluidity as tag teams. Very fun match and a great decision to give Shield the belts. Match Time: 7:23     Star Rating: ***

• Extreme Rules Match: The Big Show vs. Randy Orton

Orton looked really motivated here in his hometown, and the fans were super into all of his offense. Match told a very good story with Orton using his quickness and pulling out various weapons to combat his much larger opponent. Orton pulls out a ladder early but Show superkicks it into his face. Show takes control for a few minutes and bridges the ladder across two chairs. Show goes for a Vader Bomb but Orton moves and Show lands on the ladder. Orton takes advantage and hits a spike DDT followed by an RKO for 2. Orton then unloads on Show with a chair, but Show comes back with a spear. Orton hits another RKO onto a chair, but pauses afterwards before punting Show in the head for the win. Very good match anchored by strong psychology. Both men’s offense made sense and the fans were into the major spots. Orton hasn’t had a standout performance like this in a very, very long time. Match Time: 13:01     Star Rating: ***1/4

• Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena(c) vs. Ryback

It’s not every day that Cena doesn’t close a PPV, but that was to be expected with the heavy emphasis put on Lesnar/Triple H. The match mostly consisted of both guys exchanging power moves followed by lots of counting. Early on, Ryback catches Cena off the top and spins him into a powerslam. Ryback follows with a backpack stunner and a fall away slam through a table in the corner, but Cena gets up at 8. Cena busts out a powerbomb before appearing to attempt some kind of MMA submission. Ryback fights out of the STF, but Cena hits an AA through a table. Ryback gets up at 9 and hits the Shellshock, but Cena also gets up at 9. Cena then tackles Ryback through the dasher boards into the timekeeper’s area. They then brawl into the crowd, with Cena jumping off a ledge and splashing Ryback through a table on the floor. Cena then sprays Ryback with a fire extinguisher and hits him in the head with it. They wind up on the stage and Cena teases an AA, but Ryback fights out and drives Cena through part of the set into the backstage area. The match then suddenly comes to a halt as referees and medics tend to both guys. Eventually, Ryback walks away with help and Cena is stretchered away. No count was made and no bell was ever rung. This was a total crap finish. Last Man Standing matches have ended in draws before, but here the match was just suddenly stopped after the big spot. The fans don’t get to see a winner and there’s too much ambiguity because technically, Ryback got to his feet and Cena didn’t, therefore it doesn’t make sense for Cena to still be champion. If WWE didn’t feel comfortable beating either Cena or Ryback, the match shouldn’t have been put together in the first place. You can’t con people into buying expensive PPVs and not give them a decisive finish to a big match. Apart from the finish, the rest of the match was better than expected. Cena played to Ryback’s strengths and they had a fun match with enough big spots to hold it together. A good power match that played nicely into the stipulation, for the most part. Match Time: 22:00 (rough estimate)     Star Rating: ***1/4

• Steel Cage Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H

I still can’t believe they felt the need to book a third match between these two. Triple H attacks Brock during his entrance and throws him inside the cage to start the match. Brock takes control by repeatedly throwing Triple H into the cage walls, but misses a leap and goes knee-first into the cage. Brock then sold his knee throughout the rest of the match, with Triple H consistently targeting it. Brock hits an F5 for 2, but collapses on a second attempt due to the knee. Triple H whacks Brock in the leg with a steel chair repeatedly before applying a figure 4. Brock eventually escapes and tries to climb out, but Triple H knocks him down and pulls out a hidden, silver-painted sledgehammer from the top of the cage. Triple H then uses a Sharpshooter, but Paul Heyman enters the cage to interrupt. Heyman eats a Pedigree and Brock takes one too for a near fall. Heyman low blows Triple H, allowing Brock to score with a sledgehammer shot and another F5 for the win. The match had good storytelling and strong selling by Brock, but something about it just didn’t feel all that special. The crowd wasn’t really with it all the way, and the Pedigree was the only believable false finish. Plus the finish wasn’t the best, as the monster Brock, albeit injured, appeared to need help from a manager to beat a guy who he’s already made submit. The Heyman low blow really put a damper on what could have been the kind of comeback victory that Brock needed to recover from the Mania loss. The rest of the match was well laid out, but these guys just don’t appear to have the chemistry to take main event matches to that “great” level and really excite the crowd. This was their best match together, but it was nothing worth seeking out. Match Time: 20:09     Star Rating: ***1/4

Overall PPV Rating: 6.5/10

In Manhattan, McMillan will have to best a trio of local favorites in Victor Martinez, Juan Morel and Jon DeLarosa. Expect some noise to come from the Big Apple crowd when these three are introduced, but also when Canadian Antoine Vaillant and his v-taper hits the stage. For Martinez, the veteran will be making his return to the stage following a long layoff due to incarceration from visa issues and an injury following his release.

In the 212, Kevin English will defend his title and Sami Al Haddad, who many feel should have been victorious last May, appears to be his biggest threat.

There will also be men and women’s physique, figure and bikini.

Here are the official line-up cards:

“I feel badly for the guy,” Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said to a TMZ crew that caught up with him recently. “Had another team picked him up after the Broncos, maybe he would have a career. Him going from the Broncos to the Jets was not in anyone’s best interest.”

Because Tebow is such a pious and kind individual, he was unwilling to say anything negative about the way he was treated in his only season playing for Rex Ryan. He kept his mouth shut all year long and had only said brief and positive things then and Tweeted bible quotes since being cut days after the draft – another slap in the face of the Heisman Trophy winner. (This move was made after teams already signed undrafted free agents, making it even harder for him to find an opening elsewhere.)

So he now is having pity taken on him by Tisch, who added, “I think that he’s not a bad guy, a pretty good quarterback and I wish him all the best.”

Any other player but Tebow would have blasted Ryan and the entire Jets organization, which basically ruined the once-promising (yet questionable) career of the former first round draft choice. He was told to bulk up during the 2012 offseason to be more effective on special teams and running out of the wildcat formation, and then was used sparingly in both. After the season concluded, Tebow was told to slim down some and did so, only to watch the team draft Geno Smith in the second round and finally end the misery.

The worst kept secret around the league was that the Jets were going to release Tebow, even before they named John Idzik the new general manager or drafted Smith. So why they once again yo-yoed the poor guy is frustrating at best and cruel at worst.

At least Tisch was honest enough to say the truth. More than anyone associated with the Jets has done regarding Tebow since the day they acquired him.

Straps can cut into your skin just as bad or worse than the naked bar. Some real old school guys just hold on to small sponges, but that can get a little odd and not the most sanitary way, either.

Just when you thought that you were out of good options, the guys over at Health and Fitness Accessories, LLC came up with an idea that is just what you’ve been waiting for. GRIP ON takes the gloves out of the equation – finally – and allows the user to get the right fit and feel on any exercise equipment.

Men’s Health Magazine reported a Japanese study found that staph bacteria bind strongly to polyester, which is used in many weight lifting gloves. That bacterium includes MRSA bacteria, which lurk wherever gym people gather. MRSA bacteria can also grow in moist warm areas of any type of weight lifting gloves. You grab the bar, wipe your eyes, nose or mouth and the bacteria are in. Gloves sometimes get stiff after you wash a few times and even sometimes shrink. Grip On, the glove alternative, is your answer. Unlike gloves, wraps and straps, Grip On can and should be washed as often as possible, to sanitize, and remove any hand lotion residue or natural oils your hands can produce

There are always those last few reps, especially with a straight or EZ curl bar, dumbbells, rope, lat and shoulder pull down that on that heavy set is where you find yourself losing your grip and the weight starts to slip. So you have to cut that set short and those last few and hardest reps – the ones that make you grow – are not being performed. But once you slide on a pair of GRIP ON, you’ll be blowing out those 12th, 13th and 14th reps on a regular basis.

For carrying, from equipment, to equipment and storing in your gym bag, just interlock together.

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*Provides hygienic workout

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*Helps prevents blisters and calluses

*Provides firm controlled non-slip grip

*Can be used on Pilate’s equipment and accessories

*Can be used with or without gloves (in case you just can’t let go)

*Increases grip traction on padded handles, ropes, etc.

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*Comes in black, hot pink, arctic camo. forest camo, rainbow speckle and special edition American camo

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Please also use exclusive coupon code MSMAG for 25% off $19.95 retail price.

Looking perhaps his career best, Brandon Curry took home the first place trophy and $35,000 winner’s check with a physique that was impressive even without the graininess. His waist was narrow and his quads were their usual immense shape. Apparently working with George Farah has paid dividends for ‘The Prodigy.’

Being the runner-up has become sort of a regular for Toney Freeman and he was followed by Johnnie Jackson, Ed Nunn and Robert Piotrkowicz. Other notables were Hidetada Yamagishi and Ronny Rockel, who both placed a disappointing eighth and ninth, respectively.

Ryall Vasani won the fitness category and was followed by Regiane Da Silva, Nicole Duncan, Trish Warren, Fionna Harris and Allsion Ethier to round out the top six.

 

Here are the complete line-up cards for the IFBB categories:

Also leaving the Sunshine State as winners were Michael Anderson (men’s physique), Patricia Mello (women’s physique) and Courtney King (bikini).

Here are the full scorecards:

Johhnie Jackson finished as his runner-up, with Ed Nunn placing third.

McMillan won the 2012 New York Pro and needed a second victory to quell any chatter of him being a one-hit wonder and his aesthetic physique is surely a plus for him. He may become this year’s Shawn Rhoden, who has a similar pleasing look and had a breakout campaign in 2012.

Rounding out the remainder of the top six were Robert Piotrkowicz, Ronny Rockel and Daniel Toth.